BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Interim City Manager Alan Guard discussed the City of Brownsville’s 2026 fiscal year budget and capital improvement plan on Jan. 16.
The event was held at the Communications and Marketing Department/Convention and Visitors Bureau Complex.
Guard introduced the business community to the city’s budget and broke down the services it entails.
The event featured Guard presenting on the city’s taxes, explaining how funds are allocated, and allowing members of the business community to vote on whether departments such as police or fire should receive increased funding. The majority of people voted to increase funding of most areas of the city.
“I thought there would be more middle ground, but once it was explained from a business perspective, they really supported us and I was very pleased to see that,” Guard said.
Guard said the city is working on doing a citizen satisfaction survey that will do a “scientifically-valid” sample of citizens based on how the population feels about the city’s services. He hopes it will be available by March-April.
Guard said the city could improve its funding in its amenities such as its parks and quality of life. “We just did the Parks Health and Recreation Master Plan and one of the top findings coming out of that community engagement is, people want to see us take better care of our parks,” Guard said. “That may be a priority. Obviously, public safety is always a priority..”
He also spoke about collaborating with the state on tax spending.
“We need to make sure we’re providing the level of service that our citizens expect and that we’re emphasizing the things that are important,” Guard said. “The most important thing that the state funds is public education. We need to make sure we’re funding our schools properly, and that we’re raising kids that can handle the jobs of tomorrow.”
